I have spring fever, so I'll keep this short. I'm often asked, "How can we get a better ROI from our retail Web site?" To that, I have two things to say:

1. Focus on the customer experience. Our research shows that companies that use Scenario Design principles create better Web experiences for their shoppers. And our ongoing conversations with retailers provide us with ample evidence that better Web customer experiences lead to bigger online revenues.

To do Scenario Design well, start with design personas. My colleague Harley Manning and I hosted a panel at a recent Shop.org event to discuss how retailers use personas. We learned that Staples conducted a simple survey and analyzed its transaction database to extract the most important personas to design for and that Amazon.com maps personas to specific points in the design process to keep them front and center. To improve your overall customer experience, read "Amazon, Staples Share Persona Secrets At Shop.org."

2. Aim for CROI (companywide return on investment). While it's easy to focus on site revenues, leading retailers are figuring out new ways to use their sites to help the enterprise. Here's an eye-opening CROI story: The Bombay Company knew that its emails drove store sales, but they didn't know how much. Last fall, Bombay started bar-coding its emails to track the effect of email on store sales. Their finding? For every $1 that email drives in online sales, it drives $10 in offline sales. Talk about an ROI -- email's cheap -- and the site's the funnel for email acquisition. (Read our latest email marketing research to improve your own campaigns.)

We know dozens of examples of how retailers are using the Web to boost store sales, improve customer satisfaction, gain operational efficiencies, and optimize marketing programs. Want to get some new CROI ideas for your own company? Here's my advice: Check out your competitors' Web sites -- and perhaps those of a few retail brands you admire. Look for things that drive CROI. Do they use online flyers or catalogs? Do they let shoppers apply for or manage store credit card or loyalty program accounts online? Do they provide content and tools to support presale research? Do they use the Web for advance demand collection? You get the idea. Now get out there and do some spring shopping!



Kate Delhagen
Vice President, Retail Research

P.S. Loyal readers know that I love to visit cool stores. If you've been in -- or built -- what I call a "smarter store," I'd love to take a tour. Send your nominees to kdelhagen@forrester.com, and I'll report back on what I see.

Research Referenced In This Issue If you printed this email, get links to the research featured in this week's issue by going to www.forrester.com/go and entering the five-digit number of the report you'd like to read. Amazon, Staples Share Persona Secrets At Shop.org (33778) Contextual Ads Make Intent Marketing A Reality (33859) Cross-Channel Scenario Design (11198) Do Online Flyers And Catalogs Work? (33875) RFID Mandates Require New Technology (33954) Scenario Design Depends On Personas (13316) Unlike Smart Cards, Contactless Cards Will Succeed (33626) What's Near Field Communication Technology? (33860) Where Google Is Headed (33900) Which Europeans Are Loyal To Brands? (33409) Who Has Given Up The Internet? (33732) Who Wants Telematics? Jeep, Honda, And Nissan Owners (33785) Who Will Pay For Good-Looking Gadgets? (33869)

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